Although horror writer Lumley is best-known in the U.S. for his Necroscope series, he first achieved international attention for his Titus Crow saga, modeled on H.P. Lovecraft's seminal Cthulhu mythos. This volume, containing the short novels The Burrowers Beneath and The Transition of Titus Crow, is the first of three Titus Crow volumes to be published by Tor, each of which will contain two novels. Lumley's style here is straight out of the classic pulp era, fast-paced and full of eerie landscapes and sinister plots. Titus Crow and his Watsonian sidekick, Henri Laurent de Marigny, face one danger after another with a mix of horrified fascination and grim determination. In The Burrowers Beneath, research into a series of underground disturbances leads the duo into a deadly encounter with the evil minions of Cthulhu. A cliffhanger ending segues directly into The Transition of Titus Crow, in which an antique grandfather clock turns out to be a vehicle for traveling through space and time. Lumley's settings are worthy of H.G. Wells as well as Lovecraft. The ornate style retains the distinctive tone of Lovecraft's work without being excessive, offering a refreshing change of pace from the usual, hard-driving modern horror novel. (Jan.)